Statement

Urban Village Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries, know collectively as Urban Village Group (“the Group”) supports the principle of Equality and Diversity in employment wholeheartedly and opposes all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

We believe that it is in the group’s best interests and those of all who work in it, to ensure that the human resources, talents and skills available throughout the community are considered when employment opportunities arise.

To this end we are committed, wherever practical and consistent with our statutory and professional obligations, to achieving and maintaining a workforce which broadly reflects the composition of the adult population as a whole. We encourage and support the recruitment, retention and career development of people from as wide a range as possible of ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds.

We will continue to take every possible step to ensure that individuals are treated equally and fairly and that decisions on recruitment, selection, training, promotion and career management are based solely on individual merits and abilities, appropriate to the job.

Policy

The Group aims to provide a workplace in which all staff are treated in a fair and consistent manner. We will ensure, to the best of our ability, that staff and all others who have contact with the group are not discriminated against, either directly or indirectly.

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity in all areas of dealing with staff, whether in recruitment and selection, promotion or training and development.

We will not tolerate any form of bullying or harassment. Any employee having a complaint of discrimination or harassment is encouraged to raise the matter. Such instances will be viewed very seriously and dealt with under the Company Disciplinary policy and in line with the Equality Act 2010. The complaint will be fully examined and all possible action taken to eradicate the problem.

If any concerns or queries about any equality issue at work arise, whether it may be to do with personal experience or lack of clarity on how to deal with a specific issue, the relevant company director should be contacted in the first instance. If this is inappropriate in the circumstances, then a Group Director should be contacted.

Implementing our Policy

In order to put our existing policy of Equality and Diversity on a more structured basis and to develop its application in the day-to-day operation of the business, we continually:

Monitor the application and effects of this policy;
Review and if necessary improve existing procedures for recruitment, selection, promotion and training;
Review our Equality and Diversity Statement on a regular basis;
Research and review current legislation, regulatory guidance and codes of practice to address key areas on which the group should focus to ensure quality outcomes for equality and diversity issues;
Review current practices and address any areas of weakness in our procedures in relation to current legislative, regulatory and associated good practice frameworks;
Research and recommend positive action initiatives, so that we can work towards building a diverse workforce; and
Ensure new procedures support the organisational aims and objectives of developing a culture of equality.

All employees are reminded that they have a responsibility to play their part in achieving the objectives set out in the policy statement and any discrimination or breaches will be dealt with through the Disciplinary Procedure.